CHAPTER SIX

RECIPROCATING
COMPRESSOR VALVE
DESIGN

Chapter 6 – Reciprocating Compressor Valve Design

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 RECIPROCATING COMPRESSOR VALVE
DESIGN

6.1 Introduction

The suction and discharge valves are key parts of every

reciprocating compressor. Valve failure is the single most reason for a
scheduled or unscheduled shut down. The valve manufacturers are
constantly working to improve lifetime and performance of valves.
However, compromises are unavoidable for economic reasons. Some
expectations of the compressor operators are:
• High efficiency
• Good lifetime also of wear parts
• Low maintenance costs
• Maintenance friendly design

The right choice of valves for any application is therefore very

important. It is challenging to develop a reliable compressor valve. The
design must impose minimum flow resistance and form an effective seal
at the proper time. Suitable geometric flow areas, small clearance
volumes, simple and rugged design should be combined. There are a
variety of designs available where a few main types prevail. Most
commonly used are plate valves, ring type valves and poppet valves.
Depending on the application different types could be used for a
reciprocating compressor.

Valve designs and their performance and maintenance will be

compared in the following chapters. It will be obvious that the poppet
valve should be of particular interest despite the fact that it is not so
commonly used in Europe so far.

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 6.2 Valve Components

There are four or five main components in a typical valve (Figure 1).
These are the seat, the guard or stop plate, the moving/sealing elements,
the springs and, in some valves, the spring buttons or nubs. (Bolts, guide
pieces etc. may also be used, but will not usually be a problem.) Each of
these can fail by wear, by overstress, by fatigue, by corrosion, or by any
combination of these factors.

6.2.1 Seats

If properly designed and applied, a valve seat will not fail by fatigue
under normal operating conditions. A seat may fail from overstress if the
compressor is slugged with liquid. Actually it may be preferable that the
valve fail in this case rather than the cylinder head, piston rod, crosshead
or other more expensive part. The only question related to valve reliability
here is to determine what overpressure the valve should be designed for.
A valve designed for a higher pressure will reduce efficiency, have more
clearance (thus reducing compressor capacity), and be more expensive.

A valve seat will always wear where the moving element seals on it.
However, with modern non-metallic plates, a life well in excess of three
years should be obtained. With metallic plates, especially if the gas is dirty
or the cylinder non-lubricated, seat maintenance may be required in less
than three years. Correct choice of material can maximize the seat life.

Valve seats are usually made of nodular iron or carbon steel and
these materials give good service in the majority of cases. For extremely
corrosive environments a stainless steel chosen with regard to the actual
corrosives present in the gas should be used.

In general, valve seat life is not a major consideration in improving

valve reliability and extending service life.

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 6.2.2 Guards or Stop Plates

The above discussion on valve seats applies in general to guards. On a

guard, the potential wear areas are where the moving element is guided
and where the springs contact the guard. The guard must be sufficiently
hard to resist wear from the spring.

Guards are seldom a valve service life issue

Figure 6.1 – Channel valve

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 Figure 6.2 – Concentric ring valve

Figure 6.3 – Ported plate valve

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 6.2.3 The Moving/Sealing Element

The moving element may be a ring, a plate, a poppet or a channel.

In any case, the primary failure modes are impact fatigue caused by the
repeated impact on the guard and seat, fatigue caused by the varying
differential pressure resisted by the element, and corrosion. Simple wear is
usually not a problem. Today, rings, plates and poppets are made of
engineered plastics if the differential pressure is less than about 2000 psi. If
top quality PolyEtherEtherKetone (PEEK) based materials are used, and if
the valves are designed and applied correctly, life of these parts should
meet the three-year requirement. Problems will occur if the gas is dirty or
liquids are present or if the springs fail to control the element motion
correctly. The correct selection of valve springs is discussed in the following
section on Valve Dynamics.

6.2.4 The Springs

Most valve types used in stationary compressors use cylindrical coil

springs loaded in compression. We might think that the reliability of this
simple component would be excellent. In practice, however, the springs
are the most frequent cause of failures in modern valves. It is impossible to
find a material with good spring properties that is resistant to all the
corrosives that may be present in process gas compressors under dynamic
loading conditions. The valve engineer must choose the best material for
each application. This is made more difficult if an accurate gas
composition is not available when the valves are designed.

The operating motion of the springs is poorly controlled. This

motion consists of a rapid opening with a sudden stop, and the closing is
similar. Obviously the spring dynamics are far from ideal in this situation.
In addition, if a spring button is used, it will not necessarily stop when the
moving element does thereby increasing the spring deflection.

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 6.2.5 Spring Buttons

Buttons are often used between the spring and the moving element
for three reasons: They reduce wear of the plate caused by the spring;
they prevent the spring from catching on the edge of its hole; and they
reduce the side force that can cause the spring to wear against the side of
the hole. They are usually only needed if high aspect ratio (i.e. long, thin)
springs are used or if the moving element material is very soft (e.g.
nylon).

6.3 Valve Dynamics

The calculation of the valve dynamics, that is the position of the

element as a function of crank angle (Figure 6.4), has been routine at the
design stage for many years. Interpretation of this diagram and relating it
to valve life is not easy.

It is widely accepted, and clearly demonstrated for steel elements,

that the velocity with which the element impacts on the guard or seat is
important. For steel, it is known that there is an impact velocity below
which failures will never occur due to impact fatigue. This velocity depends
on the element and the seat or guard materials and on the valve design. For
steel elements and guards, a value of 25 ft/sec is typical. For crystalline
plastics such as carefully manufactured nylon or PEEK, the allowable
impact velocities are much higher, but less well defined.

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 Figure 6.4 – Basics of valve dynamics calculations

The valve spring is used to close the valve in time. That is, before
the dead center (when the piston reverses direction). If the spring is too
light, the valve will close late and will then be slammed shut by the reverse
gas flow. This is a common cause of premature valve failure. It is found
that the spring has little effect on the opening of the valve. It must be
chosen by considering the closing only. Calculated valve lift diagrams that
show good and bad selection of lift and springing are shown in Figure

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 Figure 6.4 – Examples of Good and Bad Valve Dynamics

It is known that pulsations can affect the valve dynamics and cause
valve failures. We have found that if a careful, preferably digital, pulsation
study is done and the pulsations at the valves are considered, and if the
valves are chosen to give a reasonable pressure drop, then the effect of
the pulsations on the valve dynamics will not be harmful. If there is
concern during the pulsation study, we calculate and evaluate the effect on
the valves

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 Figure 6.5 – Valve Lift Diagram Showing Calculated Effect of Pulsations

6.4 Moving Element Design

The geometric design of the moving element is usually

straightforward. The part must be thick enough to withstand the bending
stress that will result from the highest differential pressure it will be
exposed to, and the sealing surface must be wide enough that the
compressive stress is not excessive. Care must be taken that the maximum
differential pressure is known. This frequently occurs before start up when
the valve is exposed to the full discharge pressure while the cylinder
pressure is atmospheric.

6.4.1 Moving Element Material

For some time now, valve elements for all but the highest pressures
have been made of plastics. After considerable testing, the industry has
settled on PolyEtherEtherKetone (PEEK) as the material of choice. The
PEEK is usually reinforced with glass or other fibers and frequently

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 contains other additives. Unfortunately, compressor valves are a unique
application for this material and formulations and manufacturing methods
that work well in other applications are not optimum for compressor valves.
Great care must be taken when molding compressor valve plates that the
correct crystallinity is obtained, that the material is not overheated during
manufacture, and that there is good fibre orientation with no knit lines or
other molding imperfections. Getting good PEEK plates is at least as
difficult as getting good iron castings and involves many of the same
considerations: Correct composition of the raw material, correct
temperature and cooling rates, correct flow in the molds with correct
gating, and correct heat treatment. Achieving this required much
experimentation and close process control.

With correct manufacturing procedures in place and quality carefully

controlled, moving element failure is uncommon if the valve is applied
correctly and not abused by the service conditions. The plastic parts are
more expensive than metal parts, but a bargain when the costs of a valve
failure or short service life are considered.

6.5 Spring Design

The outer envelop of the spring, its working travel and its stiffness
are defined by the valve design and the valve dynamics. To give
satisfactory service, the spring must have infinite fatigue life, must not
take a set, and must wear at a low rate. It must also resist corrosive
attack and stress corrosion cracking in a typically dirty environment with
numerous potentially corrosive constituents in the gas.

First, methods must be available to determine the true maximum

and minimum stresses in the spring. The nominal stresses with the valve
open and closed are easily calculated. If the impact velocities are known,
corrections for button overshoot, if any, and for the high spring acceleration
can be determined using known techniques. Calculation of the complete

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 spring dynamics under the repeated operation and impacts is less certain
and usually not attempted.

Next a material for the spring must be chosen. Temperatures

seldom go much above 300°F (149°C) and so Chrome Silicon Steel gives
good spring properties (fatigue strength and modulus) and good resistance
to taking a set. However it is not very corrosion resistant. In a lubricated
compressor, the oil film is frequently enough protection from corrosion,
but this can be unreliable. There are several materials (e.g. Inconnel
X750, Hastelloy C276) that give better corrosion resistance at the expense
of poor fatigue resistance. However, these are not all resistant to all
probable corrosives. (e.g. Inconnel X750 does not do well in the presence
of chlorides, although it is good for use in sulfides).

There are also high strength materials with corrosion resistance.

Examples are Elgiloy and MP35N. These have also given good results in
some applications. It is essential that the wire the springs are made from is
specified carefully. Many alloys are sensitive to the amount of cold working,
and to details of the heat treatment; most require careful quality control to
ensure that the wire is free from inclusions, tears and scratches.

Experience with springs and knowledge of the process the valve will
be used in usually allows an adequate spring material to be chosen. A
spring can then be designed within the limits imposed by the material.

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